Integrating QFD and Fuzzy AHP for the Analysis of Customer Needs: An Automotive Case Study

Abstract

Understanding customer needs is a crucial task in designing a product. An improper definition of customer requirements affects the product’s design, reducing the product’s quality, and ultimately reducing customer satisfaction. This paper aims to address this issue by developing a QFD-FAHP model to study customer needs and select the best product that satisfies those needs. Customer requirements are identified and then evaluated using FAHP, based on customer evaluations after a survey is conducted. The technical requirements that address those requirements are then identified, and QFD is applied, building the HOQ to prioritize the technical characteristics, and the alternatives are ranked using AHP. The proposed model is validated through a case study conducted at a car manufacturing company. The findings of this study confirm and prove the efficiency of the proposed model in studying customer needs and delivering a product of quality that satisfies those needs.